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Hospital defends decision to treat baby in the car park

A hospital has defended its decision to treat a baby with suspected swine flu in the car park. Staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, thought the baby girl may have been suffering from swine flu, so they checked her over in her parents’ car before she was allowed into the hospital.

The hospital has since apologised to the family. “We are sorry to hear about the concerns of the family regarding the treatment of their daughter,” said a spokesman. “We take such concerns very seriously and apologise for the distress caused to the family.”

The spokesman also said that on some occasions, when isolation areas in A and E are already in use, patients are assessed in ambulances or vehicles they’ve travelled in. “In this case, she was assessed within half an hour of arriving at the hospital, but regrettably had to wait longer than we would like before being transferred to an isolation room.”

The case caused the hospital to hold a review, and from now on, all patients under the age of two will be assessed inside the hospital building.